Six on Saturday: the tale of the Hibiscus (24 August 2019)

Before setting off to work these past few mornings I’ve had to wipe condensation off the car windscreen (or windshield for any Americans who may be reading) and brush cobwebs (that suddenly seem to be everywhere, including just outside the front door) off my head. There’s no escaping it, Autumn isn’t far off. Still, a lovely warm and sunny Bank Holiday has been forecast so I’m going to pretend summer is here for a while yet. Anyhow…

1. Remember the sad, sorry tale of the Hibiscus? No? Well, once upon a time (February to be precise) a standard Hibiscus ‘Marina Blue’ was delivered in a box to an excited gardener in Somerset. The Hibiscus was carefully unboxed and planted and oh how the gardener did look forward to the day its leaves would unfurl and its flowers bloom. Yet alas, as winter became spring and spring became summer, the Hibiscus did not stir from its slumber.

After the dismayed gardener sent word of his woes to the online Hibiscus supplier, a replacement plant was delivered post-haste. And though t’was a sorry specimen of a shrub, having arrived in a decidedly battered box and with many branches torn asunder, the long suffering gardener was past caring for it had leaves and flower buds. The old one was dug up, the new one planted, and the patient gardener could do nothing but wait.

Each day the optimistic gardener would look out upon his garden hoping that the new Hibiscus had flowered. The weeks passed by and then, one bright morning in late July, he spied a beautiful exotic be-petelled thing of purple hue. The Hibiscus had bloomed.

It’s been flowering off and on for several weeks now and while the plant still doesn’t look all that special form-wise the flowers do look good up close, especially when bejewelled with rain drops (this photo was taken last weekend). I’m hoping it will improve with age, if it survives the winter that is.

2. I had a Zinnia disaster last week. On Wednesday I found the lovely yellow and red one that I’d featured in last week’s SoS snapped at the base. I suspect the feathered Chinook helicopters (the wood pigeons) were to blame as it was growing in a pot near the bird table. Ah well, this lovely red ‘Sprite Mixed’ Zinnia is some compensation. What was that? It looks more orange that red? I know, for some reason neither my phone or camera will capture its true redyness.

3. Another Pompom Wilko Dahlia; a pale pink one this time. They’re really getting into their flowery stride now and half the fun is watching how they develop as they open.

Now that I’ve finally come round to Dahlias am I going to dig them up come the first of the frosts and nurture them through the winter? Well, I’m still not sure I can be bothered. We shall see.

4. Next up is another anonymous Crocosmia. A yellow one.

5. Now I can’t remember whether I’ve featured the Bishop of Llandaff before. He was purchased as a plant a few months ago along with another Dahlia, the Bishop of Auckland. While Llandaff has done well, the Bishop of Auckland barely flowered and doesn’t look very well at all. I’m not sure what’s gone wrong but I’ve tried moving Auckland to another location in the hope that it perks up, though I’m not very hopeful.

6. And finally… I didn’t think any of the gladioli, planted as bulbs earlier in the year, were going to flower. Well I was wrong. This one took me by surprise but I’ve since spotted buds on a few of the others. I didn’t notice it when I took the photo, but if you zoom in on the top flower in the picture below you can just about see a white crab spider lurking.

And they were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.